Majority of Americans believe some illegal immigrants should be able to stay in the U.S.

Thousands of immigrant rights advocates packed the National Mall during an immigration reform rally in Washington this past summer. (AP Photo)

A new poll out today shows that a majority of Americans believe that some illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S. under certain circumstances.

The United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll shows only 25 percent of respondents supporting full deportation of all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. But 28 percent of respondents believe all illegal immigrants should be able to stay if they haven’t committed any crimes and commit to learning English and U.S. history.

Another 39 percent, the largest group, believe some illegal immigrants should be deported, but that those who have been in the U.S. for a long time and haven’t broken any laws should be able to stay.

Although the recent GOP debates seem to illustrate otherwise, these results aren’t indicative of a sudden shift in mentality across the United States. Nestor Rodriguez, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said that acceptance of illegal immigration has grown in concert with the influx of immigrants.

“Immigration has become such a permanent feature of our society that [illegal immigrants have] kind of become a part of the landscape,” he said.

Rodriguez added that the record-high number of immigrants arriving in the U.S. in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century have made immigration “something we’re getting used to,” and that it will become more acceptable as newer generations grow up with illegal immigrants living and working around them.

The demographic breakdown supports this, as one of the largest groups that want to allow illegal immigrants to stay is the youngest. Forty-two percent of those aged 18-29 want all illegal immigrants to stay if they make an effort to learn English and U.S. history. The same percentage of non-Hispanic blacks feel the same way.

Ideologically, the numbers break down on partisan lines, with about a third of Republicans supporting the deportation of all illegal immigrants, and half as many Democrats in agreement.

But those numbers flip on the other end of the ideological spectrum. Thirty-two percent of Democrats think all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay, with only 19 percent of Republicans–the smallest percentage among all demographic groups–holding the belief that all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay.

Rodriguez said that the support for illegal immigrants revealed by the poll could end up helping some members of the GOP presidential field, and perhaps hurting others.

“Gingrich will certainly draw some support from this. He’s in that group that says some [immigrants] are going to have to go, but a lot will be able to say,” he said, referencing the poll response with the largest number of supporters.
That position—that some should be deported, while others who haven’t committed crimes can stay—is backed by the largest percentage of Republicans, too, with 43 percent agreeing with such a proposition. Gingrich has suggested that those illegal immigrants who have long-standing connections to their community should be given special consideration for citizenship.

Support for allowing those illegal immigrants who have community ties may be due to the fact that, increasingly, immigrants work with and for U.S. citizens in a proximity that breeds familiarity.

“Many people employ these migrants to work in their companies or their yards or their homes,” he said.